Part Seven 



International Scientific Cooperation 



Perhaps more than any other na- 

 tional activity, scientific research and 

 development depend upon close rela- 

 tionships with other countries. Scien- 

 tific knowledge is not limited by 

 geographical or racial boundaries, and 

 it is almost impossible to think of 

 any branch of science which has 

 progressed very far without amalgam- 

 ating discoveries made in several 

 different nations. In the past, most 

 of this interchange has gone on in- 

 formally and directly between the 

 members of the scientific communi- 

 ties concerned, without regard to 

 political considerations. Certain obvi- 

 ous barriers such as that of language 

 have hampered free communication, 

 but, on the whole, relations between 

 scientists have probably been closer 

 than between the representatives of 

 anv other segment of society. 



The growth of science in the last 

 few decades and its increasingly close 

 relationship to other national inter- 

 ests have demonstrated the need for 

 more official methods of carrying on 

 international scientific activity. 



A. Support and Sponsorship of 

 International Cooperative 

 Scientific Enterprises 



That this country has never pro- 

 vided any method of participating 

 ofhciallv in international scientific 



J 



enterprises has frequently been an 

 embarrassment to various scientific 

 groups. If the present tendency, in 

 other countries, of closely integrating 



science with Government continues, 

 the need will exist for some official 

 body to carry on international scien- 

 tific activities. (A good example of 

 such an activity was the so-called 

 "International Polar Year" in which 

 several countries, interested in the 

 compilation of scientific data of the 

 Arctic regions, pooled information and 

 techniques. This cooperation gave 

 added value to the results of the study 

 by providing uniform methods of ob- 

 servation and presentation of the data 

 collected.) The Government could 

 not onlv provide some modest financ- 

 ing for such international cooperative 

 projects, but it could also facilitate 

 them by arranging for means of 

 travel, visas, and so forth. 



It is therefore recommended that 

 the National Research Foundation be 

 charged with the responsibility of 

 participating in such international 

 cooperative scientific enterprises as it 

 deems desirable. 



1. International Scientific 

 Congresses 



The Foundation should also par- 

 ticipate in arrangements for interna- 

 tional scientific conferences whereby 

 scientific workers in different coun- 

 tries may be brought together to ex- 

 change ideas. These were held more 

 or less regularly before the war and 

 were found to be stimulating and 

 useful forms of assistance to the ad- 

 vancement of science. As far as the 

 United States was concerned, how- 



113 



